Recently, reductions in the size and weight of portable electronic equipment have led to the development of batteries for use in such equipment. Batteries having high energy density are used as the power sources for this portable equipment, and lithium secondary batteries have been actively researched.
In a lithium secondary battery cell, lithium-transition metal oxides are used as the positive active material and crystalline or amorphous carbon or carbon complexes are used as the negative active material. Positive and negative electrodes are formed by coating the appropriate active material slurry or applying the appropriate active material film onto current collectors to a desired thickness and length. An electrode assembly is fabricated by positioned a insulative separator between the positive and negative electrodes and spiral-winding or laminating the electrodes and the separator. The lithium secondary battery cell is fabricated by inserting the electrode assembly into a battery case, such as a metal can or metal laminated pouch, and injecting an electrolyte solution in the battery case.
Battery pouches afford the batteries shape freedom and increased battery capacity relative to cans. However, pouches are easily modified and damaged by external physical impact and swell during storage at high temperature. These problems are more serious in lithium secondary batteries using liquid electrolyte solutions than they are in lithium secondary batteries using polymer electrolyte solutions. Therefore, batteries using pouches generally use polymer electrolyte solutions.
Polymer electrolyte lithium secondary batteries have advantages such as leak prevention, safety, high temperature stability, durability against external physical impact and the like. Much research has been conducted into improving the stability of such batteries against external physical impact and reducing the deterioration of physical strength during high temperature storage.